Dana Henry Martin

Mother

  • Leaf Mother

    Mother, if I had a jar of soil from your garden, I would carry it with me for the rest… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • December 25, 2025

    The laccolith shoulders this inelegant sky, nothing to write home about, as if this weren’t home now but that other… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • The Architecture of Mental Illness

    Mental illness has an architecture. That’s part of the story of asylums and treatment in this country. Central State Griffin… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Wildness

    Wildness is one of those words that looks like it’s missing a letter. I want another d or n. Something.… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • The Dance Magazine, 1928

    This page from The Dance Magazine, dated July 1928, features Mignon Laird. She was one of the dancers at the… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Baubles

    Robin, by John James Audubon. Image used in accordance with U.S. public domain laws. This time of year, American robins… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    7–10 minutes

  • The Loneliness of Recovery

    I used to think to be not alone meant / never having to walk through the high wheat / or… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    6–9 minutes

  • She Just Doesn’t See

    I want to talk about touch, how it’s the only sense I fully trust. When I doubt my ears, my… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    5–7 minutes

PROCESS

  • Map and Research: Investigate the historical, geological, and ecological context of each collection site or reverse the direction, mapping sites based on ancestral and historical narratives.
  • Forage: Gather natural materials ethically, respectfully, and with permission.
  • Transform: Process foraged materials into custom mediums and physical resources for art-making.
  • Weave: Track the stories held within the land, braiding personal, ancestral, and ecological histories.
  • Create: Generate studies and finished artwork informed by the sites and physically composed of the materials collected.

  • Limits: Not all sites will be safe or accessible, which means some spaces cannot be entered, and some stories will remain incomplete. An empty container can signify these omissions.

purpose

ethics

Responsible Exploration: Committing to mindful presence, permission-based foraging, and minimal-impact exploration on every site.

Meaning

Embodied Storytelling: Engaging in sensory, place-based creation that connects the maker and viewer to the specific location and to the physical earth.

Reclamation: Unearthing and honoring lost, fractured, or overlooked histories embedded in the landscape.

Material Transformation: Celebrating the alchemy of turning raw, gathered earth into tangible, expressive art.

community

Public Education: Sharing the ecological and historical narratives of the sites to foster a deeper collective awareness.

Active Participation: Creating opportunities for community participation, engagement, and shared connection through the work.